Affluent buyers keep U.S. new car sales modestly higher in 2025

New car sales in the United States are expected to have risen modestly in 2025 to about 16.3 million, buoyed largely by purchases from affluent Americans, analysts said. According to Cox Automotive, households with annual incomes of $150,000 or more now buy 43 percent of new cars, up from about one-third in 2019, while households earning less than $75,000 account for roughly a quarter of purchases, down from more than a third in 2019.

Several automakers reported strong results: Toyota said it sold 2.5 million cars and light trucks in the U.S., up 8 percent from 2024, and General Motors said its 2025 sales climbed 6 percent to 2.9 million vehicles even as its fourth-quarter sales fell 7 percent year over year. The industry faces higher costs from tariffs, rising interest rates and record prices.

The average interest rate on car loans is 9.3 percent, up from 8.7 percent a year earlier, and Cox calculated it now takes more than 36 weeks of average income to buy a new vehicle, up from 34 weeks in 2019. Defaults have risen among borrowers with weaker credit, the average age of vehicles on U.S.

roads reached 12.8 years in 2025, and buyers with higher incomes have favored larger, pricier models: sales of large SUVs grew 15 percent with an average sale price of $77,000, while medium car sales fell 15 percent with an average price of $33,000.

Key Topics

Business, New Car Sales, Affluent Buyers, Cox Automotive, Toyota, General Motors